Charamusca

When I peeked into the ice cream freezer at the Latino Market, I saw amongst the usual popsicles and choco-bananas, something new.

“What’s that in the plastic bag?” I asked Carlos.
“Charamusca,” he said.

At 50 cents each, I decided to bring one home and give it a try. “Charamusca” in Mexico is a twisted caramel candy – but in El Salvador “Charamusca” is what they call a type of frozen treat. They come in various flavors, (the one I bought seemed to be coconut milk), but they’re frozen in plastic baggies.

Carlos showed me how to eat it: You simply bite a corner of the plastic off with your teeth, and then work it out through the hole while sucking on it.

These would be easy to make with kids over the summer: Just pour juice or a homemade fruit smoothie into plastic baggies, tie closed, and freeze. (I recommend eating them outdoors. They get sticky!)

While trying to find out more about “charamuscas”, I stumbled upon this odd music video. Say what you want about Salvadorans, but they know how to have fun.

My kids know the word “bolis” well. LOL. The youngest is a “bolis” fanatic and would eat 12 a day during the summer if I let him. (Of course, I grew up calling them “Freeze pops” – http://tinyurl.com/69utg62 – but the kids call them “bolis” even in front of non-Spanish speaking people because that’s just what they are to them. LOL.)

As for the plastic bags – that was one of the things that shocked me most when I went to El Salvador. One of Carlos’s little cousins ate a snack and drank a soda from a plastic bag and then threw it out the back of the pick-up truck. I think I literally gasped, and I’m not even an “environmental type” — I told her you should never throw trash on the ground and she looked at me like I was crazy. I asked her father (Carlos’s uncle), “No tienen las comerciales aquí ‘Give a Hoot! Don’t Pollute!? – para que los niños aprenden cómo cuidar el mundo?” … He just shrugged and said, “Aquí la gente no piensan así.” — That was one of those culture shock moments for me to realize that not everyone gets brainwashed by “Woodsy the Owl” as a child. LOL.

(That reminds me – when Carlos’s uncle came to the U.S. to visit, before I had gone to visit El Salvador, he kept saying how clean the land and streets were — I didn’t understand why he was so impressed at the time!)

For the anti-littering commercials – I think they should make some that appeal to Salvadoran pride. I think that would convince a lot of people more than any sort of environmental argument. If you told them that Orgullos Salvadoreños no tiran basura en nuestra linda pais, show a person throwing trash in a trash can, some beautiful photos of the landscape, la bandera, maybe play el himno in the background – I think you’d have a pretty effective commercial.

But hey, look what I found! LOL.

Jajaja… It’s great. Puro guanaco – you’ve got Cipitio, Caliche and there’s even an aquacatero on the street towards the end of the video.

Si hay bathrooms! The Charamuscas de Miados are like a natural toxic weapon against the rival team. Well serves 2 purposes, let it out of your system and then throw it to “the enemy”!
I’ll see if I can find my commercial!

I’ll give you the high-cut bikinis and jiggling pansa – but that guy is a good singer! The music itself is really good, (minus the weird Michael Jackson intro – but this was made in the 80’s. American videos were just as cheesy!)

ROFL… If she reads this comment and still hasn’t seen the video, she is probably wondering WTH!

Ay dioh mio! That huge belly did it for me, I had to stop the video! LOL!!!
Yes! Bolis (charamuscas in Mx) are delicious! Here in Veracruz they are called Toyitos (a special brand) and they are the best treat during the 13 months of heat we seem to experience here (ugh!). ;)
Throwing the plastic bags on the street though… it happens here too and it drives me crazy!
BRB, gotta go get me a toyito from the freezer….

Hi Britt – a charamusca can be made in whatever flavor you want – just buy fruit juice (or make your own in a juicer), pour it into a plastic baggie (or the special plastic charamusca bags you can buy at some Latino markets), and tie it closed. Place in the freezer until frozen! :)

All content is protected under federal U.S. Copyright law. Content is not to be reproduced, copied or re-posted in any way without prior written consent.

Images used here that do not belong to Latinaish.com and appearing without attribution are carefully selected copyright free images released under Creative Commons via Pixabay. If your photo has been uploaded to Pixabay without your consent and you wish to have it removed from Latinaish.com, please contact us.